Tyler Bass saves Buffalo to get past the Dolphins

ORCHARD PARK – If there was ever going to be a day when the Miami Dolphins finally exorcised some of their demons against the Buffalo Bills, it had to be this one, right?

On an idyllic fall afternoon in Western New York with sunny skies and 54-degree air, the Dolphins were the better team for much of the game and it seemed and felt like more than 70,000 spectators were on an emotional roller coaster ride for three hours we would leave the building in frustrated silence.

Instead, the Dolphins walked into their locker room with their heads bowed, eyes glassy and ears loudly cheering because Tyler Bass made a franchise-record, game-winning 61-yard field goal with five seconds left to give Buffalo a 30-27 lead -to bring victory.

Wow.

“Man, what a story,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “T-Bass sets a franchise record. And that doesn’t happen by itself, so I want to make sure I give proper credit, in addition to T-Bass with Sam (Martin) and Reid (Ferguson) and the guys up front who blocked for him. Just a big kick for us.”

There were four lead changes and three ties in the game, the last tied at 27-27 when Tua Tagovailoa threw a seven-yard TD pass to Jaylen Waddle with 1:38 left. And since the Bills’ offense stumbled and stumbled on their final possession, only reaching the Miami 43 when Bass took the field, it’s safe to say that anyone not drawing a paycheck signed by Terry Pegula thought this game was going to be in go to the extension.

“Exhale,” Josh Allen said minutes after Bass’ kick flew through the uprights. “So proud of him, so happy for him. My little speech after the game touched me emotionally, just the trials and tribulations he’s been through this year. Obviously he missed a hit earlier in the day, hit the post on another, you know he could have easily put it in the mix, and a 61-yard field goal to win a game against a division rival, That’s what stories are made of. Everyone in the locker room is so happy for him and he’s our guy.”

This is how I evaluated the bills:

Pass offense: B-

Allen wasn’t at his best and it was confusing because he faced a Miami defense without FS Jevon Holland, NCB Kader Kohou and DT Zach Sieler, three of the Dolphins’ most successful defenders. But the Dolphins did a good job taking the first and, in some cases, the second and third passes away from him, and things were tough in the passing game as he went 25 of 39 for 235 yards.

Keon Coleman took points off the board in the second quarter when he let a quick slant shot go right through his hands and Jalen Ramsey intercepted the ball inside the 5-yard line, just a brutal, brutal mistake that shouldn’t happen, especially not down there. He finished the game with just one catch for 21 yards, although he did incur a massive personal foul penalty on his old friend Jordan Poyer that kept the game-winning drive alive. He was injured on this play, but we don’t know the extent.

Khalil Shakir was great as always, catching six of seven targets for 50 yards, with the majority of that distance coming after the catch. And then the supporting cast made some big contributions, as Mack Hollins caught a touchdown on a four-and-goal play from the 2 and made two catches on the final drive that moved the ball to the 43 and gave Bass a chance.

RB Ray Davis took a short pass from a blitz and scampered 63 yards for a touchdown, and rarely used TE Quintin Morris caught a two-yard touchdown on a throw that seemed impossible for Allen to complete as he was being tackled. when he released him.

RUNNING INJURY: C

Not a great day for the offensive line as they struggled to put the Dolphins away. James Cook had just 44 yards on 10 carries, one of which was a 13-yarder, while Ty Johnson had 17 of his 23 yards on a run. Those helped push the Bills’ average per carry to 4.9 yards, but it wasn’t easy out there.

Davis had four carries for 20 yards, while Allen had a 14-yard run but also had a 21-yard touchdown run that was negated by a holding penalty on O’Cyrus Torrence in the second quarter, which forced the Bills out , to be satisfied with a field goal. Earlier in the game, Dion Dawkins called a holding penalty after the Bills reached the 11-yard line. That was one of three possessions in the red zone where the Bills failed to score a touchdown.

Pass Defense: C

Tua Tagovailoa distinguished the Bills with his short, accurate passing game as he completed 25 of 28 (one of the incompletions was a throwaway) for 231 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. No matter what anyone says about him, all his critics, of which there are many, he is a perfect fit in Mike McDaniel’s offense and the Dolphins are a completely different team when he plays.

Without CB Christian Benford, the Bills did a great job over the first two and a half quarters keeping Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle out of the game. But Hill finally got going and finished the game with four catches for 80 yards, his 28-yard catch in the third setting up the go-ahead field goal, a 27-yarder early in the fourth leading to Miami’s tying touchdown and his 19-yarder helped Miami tie the game late in the fourth. As for Waddle, he did nothing until the final drive, when he caught a crucial third-down pass and then caught the tying TD from seven yards.

The Bills had a hard time containing DeVon Achane, who had eight catches for 58 yards and a touchdown, and Raheem Mostert had two for 32 yards. They were able to take advantage of LB Dorian Williams on some of them, which is partly why Williams led the Bills with 12 tackles, some of which came after completions. And LB Terrel Bernard didn’t appear to be at full speed as he suffered an ankle injury.

The Bills had just one pass breakup, that of Rasul Douglas on a third down, and just one sack, that of Greg Rousseau, who pounced when Tagovailoa was in an awkward position after a low shotgun snap.

RUN DEFENSE: D

Miami’s offensive line won the line of scrimmage. It was able to shred the Bills between the tackles, and Achane (63 yards) and Mostert (56) both took advantage. Combined, these two averaged 5.4 yards per attempt. The DT duo of Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones couldn’t hold the point, and backups Eli Ankou and Austin Johnson weren’t much better.

Again, despite making eight tackles, it looked like Bernard was a step behind. One way to judge how run defense is playing is tackles by safeties, because when they bunch up, that’s usually a problem. Well, Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp made 10 each.

Rousseau had a solid performance as three of his seven tackles were for loss, while Rapp and Kaiir Elam – who filled in quite well for Benford – each had one tackle for loss. Elam also recovered a Mostert fumble forced by Taron Johnson early in the third period.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A

Hey, I have to hand it to Bass. You make a 61-yarder, that will carry the mark. Yes, he missed a PAT, but he also hit a 49-yard field goal at the end of the first half and a 40-yarder in the first quarter.

Sam Martin only hit a punt once and it was a beautiful 49-yarder that featured Cam Lewis making a great open-field tackle on Malik Washington at the Miami 17.

Brandon Codrington’s only touch came early in the game when he deflected a poor 37-yard punt from Jake Bailey on a hop and stormed up the right sideline for a 29-yard return to the Miami 37, the Bass’ first field Goal prepared.

COACHING: C+

McDermott deserves credit every week for keeping his team committed, even when things aren’t going well. This was another slow start for the Bills, but once again they found a way to turn things around with a 24-point second-half effort.

His challenge on Tagovailoa’s fourth down scramble was close. I could see he thought his shin was down before reaching for the line to get up, but that’s always going to be hard to win. The loss cost the Bills a timeout that came in handy on the final possession.

On offense, Joe Brady had a hard time getting to grips with the Dolphins’ performance, although he wasn’t helped by Allen, who missed the mark more than usual. And on defense, Bobby Babich was outsmarted by McDaniel, especially in the short passing game because too many players were able to get open. It’s not great if you only force three incompletions.

Sal Maiorana has been covering the Buffalo Bills for four decades, including 35 years as a full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books on the team’s history. He can be reached at [email protected] and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast